Chinese dumpling sauce is a real burst of flavor: it's tangy, sweet, salty, sometimes spicy, and always delicious! Even better, this simple Asian dip can be made in 1 minute using 4 simple ingredients, such as black vinegar, making it the perfect quick easy dumpling sauce for the time-poor! (Add chili oil or chili crisp if you want it spicy)
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⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star
- Dumpling dipping sauce is super easy to make and delicious: Homemade sauce is so simple to put together, requiring only 4 main ingredients! And it tastes better than anything from a jar which is full of preservatives! If you have a good dumpling sauce, it doesn't matter if you use store-bought dumplings or homemade!
- Fast and versatile: the basic version literally comes together in 1 minute. You can use this Chinese sauce for Chinese dumplings, Korean mandu, Japanese gyoza and even Chinese scallion pancakes!
- Meal prep friendly: the sauce lasts for a while so you can make a huge batch and use it for the entire week!
🥘 Ingredients
You will need:
- Chinkiang vinegar: don't substitute Chinese black vinegar with rice vinegar, white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. (Use the white vinegars if you want to make a Japanese or Korean dipping sauce.) Though both are Asian vinegars, the former has a savouriness to it that rice vinegar does not. It's available at most Asian supermarkets but if you can't get it, use balsamic vinegar instead.
- Light Soy Sauce: This is the "regular soy sauce" you find on the tables of Chinese restaurants. Do not use dark soy sauce, thick soy sauce or sweet soy sauce instead- they're not the same thing! If you are gluten intolerant, try some of these GF soy sauce substitutes.
- White Sugar: granulated or caster is good. You will also need hot water to dissolve the grains. (If you're going for authenticity, I don't recommend brown sugar or honey as a substitute.)
- Sesame Oil: readily available even in mainstream supermarkets. If not, you can DIY your own sesame oil too.
- Optional: lightly toasted sesame seeds and sliced spring onions will give the Asian dipping sauce texture and make it taste even better.
📖 Variations & Substitutes
Other easy dumpling sauce recipes include:
- Spicy dumpling sauce: Add sliced red chilli, chili oil, chili crisp or red pepper flakes in a pinch. I use 1 sliced small red chili, or you can do it to taste!
- Garlicky sauce: add 1 Tablespoon of minced raw garlic- or more if you're a garlic lover!
- Gluten-free: If you're GF, use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari instead. Also, skip the black vinegar and use traditional balsamic vinegar. (But note that there are a lot of modern versions which may contain wheat, so always check the label!)
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
- If using, lightly toast the sesame seeds.
- Add the hot water to the sugar in a small bowl. Stir.
- Next, add the rest of the ingredients. (The order is important, as we need the heat from the hot water to melt the sugar. If you dilute the hot water with the (not hot) soy sauce etc, the temperature will go down and the sugar may not melt.)
- Use immediately or store in the fridge.
🥡 How to Store
Extra dumpling sauce can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1-2 weeks. For longer storage, don't add the fresh ingredients (spring onions, chili and garlic) till you're about to serve.
Note: If using minced garlic, please finish within 2-3 days to avoid botulism.
🥗 Other Recipes
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Easy Chinese dumpling Sauce
Equipment
- Bowl and spoon/ fork
- Optional: pan and wooden spatula if toasting the sesame seeds yourself
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 Tablespoon hot water
- 2 Tablespoons Chinkiang black vinegar Substitute: balsamic vinegar. You can use a white vinegar like white rice vinegar if you're making a Japanese dipping sauce or a Korean one.
- 1 Tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Optional
- chili oil I use ½-1 Tablespoon of LaoGanMa. You can also use sliced fresh chilies.
- sesame seeds lightly toasted. ½-1 teaspoon is more than enough.
- garlic minced
- spring onions sliced
Instructions
- Add the hot water to the sugar in a small bowl. Stir.Note: The order is important, as we need the heat from the hot water to melt the sugar. If you dilute the hot water with the (not hot) soy sauce etc, the temperature will go down and the sugar may not melt.
- Next, add the rest of the ingredients.Note: for longer storage, don't add the fresh ingredients (fresh chili, fresh garlic, spring onions etc) till just before you want to serve.
- Use immediately or store in the fridge.
Notes
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.
Nutrition
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